Chapter 10: Chapter Ten: Lacey

“Hello, beautiful,” Elijah wrapped his arms around me in a polite, stiff hug. Ever the odd duck, Elijah, but we loved him anyway. Standing next to him was his fiancé Ava, a woman I’d heard about briefly from Ezra. She smiled when he released me and went in for a hug which I returned with a grin.

“Congratulations to you both,” I said earnestly. “I’m really happy for you.”

“Thank you so much,” said Ava. “I actually didn’t know that Elijah had a brother or even parents alive until after he proposed.

I rolled my eyes at Elijah, and Ezra scoffed. “Yeah, he likes to pretend we didn’t grow up together.”

“Well, we’re delighted that you both could make it.”

Behind me, Ezra grinned, stepping up to hug his brother in the manliest way possible. “I tried to get out of it,” he teased. “But this one made me come.”

“I made him do no such thing,” I promised. “As your little brother, he was ecstatic to come.”

“You don’t have to make excuses for him anymore, Lacey,” said Elijah, punching Ezra in the arm. “I know this little shit very well. You probably had to force him.”

“Nah, he’s the one who had to convince me to leave work and take a break,” I admitted with a shrug.

“Are Mom and Dad here yet?” Ezra asked, hiking his backpack again over his shoulder. Before Elijah or Ava could answer, a woman’s high-pitched, excited shout echoed against the walls of the marble lobby, and we looked up just in time to see Elijah and Ezra’s Mom, Tabitha, headed our way. She was dressed in a white cashmere suit, high heels slicking against the floor, blonde hair done up with far too much hairspray, lips bolded in red, oversized sunglasses perched on her nose. She was just as I remembered her, if not a bit fancier.

“Lacey, darling, how are you? It’s so lovely to see you!” Heading for me first, Tabitha drew me into her for a kiss and a hug, the familiar, overwhelming scent of expensive perfume wrapping me in its embrace. I held my breath and hugged her back, forcing a smile that I hoped was genuine.

“I’m doing great, Mrs. Trevino. Thank you for asking.”

“It’s not Mrs. Trevino, darling, not to you.” Tabitha winked and dropped her embrace on me to go straight to Ezra, who groaned aloud. She ignored this, wrapping him in an extra tight hug. “Ezra, you feel thin,” she said, prodding his arms with the tips of her fingers. “Are you taking care of yourself?”

“Yes, ma, I’m fine.”

“Lacey,” she said, wheeling on me. “Is he taking care of himself?”

I glanced at Ezra, who glared at me, before shrugging. “That’s something you’ll have to discuss with him, Tabitha.”

Shaking her head, Tabitha held him out at arm’s length for a moment before releasing him and putting her hands on her hips instead. She turned to me again, reached out, and patted my cheek.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said again, and Ezra rolled his eyes.

“Where’s Dad?” he asked. “Is he here yet? I don’t hear anyone roaming the hallways drunk and belligerent yet, so I assume that’s a no?”

“Father is not here yet, but he should be any time,” Elijah said. Next to him, Tabitha rolled her eyes.

“Ah, yes, your father. It’s not a big event without his presence.”

“It’s my wedding, Mother,” said Elijah, glancing at me. I smiled at him reassuringly, remembering just how big of a deal it was for the divorced Trevinos to speak of each other, let alone be in the same room as the other one. “He’s allowed to be here, same as you.”

Waving her hand as though she hadn’t heard him, Tabitha turned away from our small group to signal to a server walking by holding a tray of fruity drinks. She plucked one from the platter and took a sip, watching the young man walk away, unsubtly scoping him out.

“Jesus, ma,” said Ezra, grabbing my backpack from where it rested near my feet. “He could be your grandson.”

“So, sue me,” she said, focusing her attention on Ezra and me. “You two should go get settled,” she said. “I have a Zumba class to attend, but certainly, I’ll see you very soon.” Without waiting for an answer, Tabitha flitted away, drink securely in hand, and Elijah and Ava turned back to us.

“Have you checked into your room yet?” Ava asked. “The beach views are amazing.” She glanced lovingly at her fiancé. “It reminds me of Costa Rica.”

“I told you we could have the wedding in Costa Rica,” said Elijah, and Ava giggled.

“But I hadn’t been to Hawaii yet.”

“We’re on our way to the room now.” Ezra slipped my backpack over his free shoulder with a nod.

“We don’t have any plans for tonight, so just make yourselves at home,” Elijah said. “Tomorrow is the rehearsal dinner. We’ll probably see you out and about. We have to find and greet our other guests.”

“Sounds like a plan, big brother.” I leaned in to hug him again, muttering congratulations under my breath. He clapped me on the shoulder, and then he and Ava moseyed away.

I’d never seen him look so happy.

After parting ways with Ava and Elijah, Lacey followed me down the lobby hallway until we arrived at the elevator. We were roomed on the tenth floor, which wouldn’t be bad, I figured, because the higher up we were, the better the view of the resort.

“Ava is right. Wait until you see the view,” I told Lacey, stopping in front of a single room on the tenth floor. “I looked it up online. It’s great.” She didn’t say anything, just waited patiently for me to put the code in and push the door open. I stepped in, and Lacey followed, leaving the door hanging open behind her.

“Wow,” she murmured. “This actually is really nice.”

“No kidding, right?”

And it was. The room was beautiful. The tenth-floor suite hovered above the massive resort, where aqua blue waves below us washed against the sandy shore. Inside, the room was decorated in a typical Hawaii-style theme, complete with shell decorations, glimmering paintings of ocean views, and crisp white and pastel-colored décor. It was nice. Damn nice.

“Is this room yours or mine?” Lacey asked, and I glanced up, realizing my mistake at once.

I hadn’t told her.

And she was going to be pissed.

“Uh, it’s ours,” I said, clearing my throat. “Since you’re my plus one, we’re sharing a room.”

“We’re sharing a room?” Lacey asked, dropping her backpack at her feet. She looked at me, looking mildly horrified at the thought of sharing something with me. In the middle of the room was one bed. A king-sized bed.

“And a bed, too, it looks like,” I told her, kicking off my sandals to plop down on the mattress, checking its cushiness. “It’s comfy, though.”

“Ezra,” she scolded, her eyes brimming with horror as she looked around. “We cannot share a bed.”

“Why not, Lace? We used to bed share all the time.”

“Yeah, when we were twelve.”

I sat up and sighed, patting the spot next to me, but Lacey only glared. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll sleep on the couch.”

Fortunately for her, a small living space right off the main room provided what looked like the most uncomfortable couch I’d ever seen, and I groaned inwardly, thinking about how that would feel on my back tonight.

“Maybe you can request a roll-out bed,” she suggested, sitting daintily down on the edge of the bed next to me. I opened my mouth to respond but was suddenly caught off guard by her scent—the presence of her. She smelled really good, something I hadn’t noticed until just now … like coconut shampoo and vanilla. Had she always smelled so fucking good? God, maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.

“What do you want to do tonight?” I asked, pushing myself off the bed before my penis took charge and left my brain in the dust. “I mean, you’re not obligated to spend time with me, but maybe we could go have some dinner or something. A drink.”

Lacey pulled her bottom lip between her teeth to chew on it, looking away from me and out the balcony window. My fingers itched to reach out and touch her, caress her skin, and make her moan. I was taken with her movements for a moment, with each small breath she took that made her breasts rise and fall with the movements.

“Dinner sounds nice,” she said softly, and I wish I could have read what was going through her mind. When she looked at me then, a sexy smile played on her lips. Was she trying to tease me? “Drinks sound even better.”

“Drinks it is,” I said, backing towards the bathroom door before completely losing my mind. There must have been something in the air, some sort of damn pheromone that turned me on more than usual. Or maybe it was merely that I saw Lacey in a new setting. My feelings for her were intensifying by hundreds. “Let me hop in the show real quick, and we’ll go explore, yeah?”

“Sure,” she said with a smile. “I have to change anyway.”

I nodded without speaking and shut the bathroom door behind me, all but panting for her as I turned on the shower and cranked the water too hot. My prick was stiffening against my pants, and I clenched my fists and took a few deep breaths. All I could think about repeatedly was pushing Lacey down on the bed and fucking her.

Making her scream.

Making her mine.

Shaking my head, I stripped my clothes and stepped under the hot water to scrub my body and relieve myself, praying I wouldn’t get a fucking hard on tonight in front of Lacey while we were out enjoying the night. This wasn’t good. Could I make it the entire week without screwing up everything?